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Maine Antique Digest, May 2015 33-C
- AUCTION -
Early 17th century, probably from
Augsburg, this German gilt-brass
table clock features quarter-striking
and alarm. Its architectural form
was popular during the “golden age”
of German clockmaking. The auction
catalog reproduces a page from the
consignors’ archive with Guggen-
heim’s snapshots and handwritten
notes about this clock. It sold for
$62,500.
Yet another rampant lion automa-
ton clock, this gilt-brass and ebony
circa 1640 German example is by
Christoff Miller. Eyes waggled
with ticking; jaws opened with
hour striking. Derek Roberts, in
his 1999 Schiffer book
Mystery,
Novelty & Fantasy Clocks
, devoted
a full page and three photos to this
clock. Peter Guggenheim’s com-
petitor collector Winthrop Edey
owned a virtually identical clock,
which was number 31 in the 1972
Met exhibit. This one sold for
$81,250.
The Knight’s Dream
, 1650, Antonio de Pereda. I research, collect,
write about, and lecture on fine art images with clocks. One favor-
ite is this painting rich with symbols and allegories. At its center is
a table clock, a reminder of mortality, nearly identical to the Augs-
burg clock that brought $62,500. This style, also known as “türm-
chenuhr” (“little tower clock”) was made to resemble steeples hous-
ing great urban turret clocks.
Philip Poniz spent several days
prior to the auction laboriously
examining the clocks for himself,
colleagues, and clients. Here he is
shown in one of the small preview
rooms studying lot 16, which passed
at $55,000. One of nine clocks failing
to sell on auction day, it could not
rise to its $80,000/120,000 estimate.
Circa 1630 by Nikolaus Schmidt the
Younger of Augsburg, Germany, it
featured two polychrome brass fig-
ures flagellating Christ, along with
hour-striking and alarm functions.
It was number 67 in
The Clock-
work Universe
exhibit. According
to another friend who visited Peter
Guggenheim’s home, this clock cus-
tomarily was the final presentation
to his guests. Frishman photo.
Philip Poniz was very surprised at the low winning bid for this mid-
17th-century German square table clock with “grande sonnerie” strik-
ing. Its maker, Abraham Scheirlin of Augsburg, holds a special place in
German Renaissance horology, and the clock was in excellent condition
with a spectacular enamel dial. Poniz knows of only one other example,
housed in the Museum of the History of Science in Oxford, England, and
he believes that the true value of this one is at least five times the sale
price of $18,750. The new owner must be happy.
Two views at Christie’s 20 Rockefeller Plaza headquarters. One photo shows how the clocks and bronze sculptures complemented each other
as they must have for Drs. Abbott and Guggenheim in their Warwick, New York, farmhouse. Frishman photos.
Another of the nine clocks selling for
more than $100,000, this German
gilt-brass striking and astronomical
“monstrance” table clock by Niko-
laus Schmidt of Augsburg dates to
circa 1580 and sold for $118,750. To
determine the time would be chal-
lenging amid the calendar, zodiac,
lunar, and astrological indications.
The other half of the 117-lot
Abbott/Guggenheim collection
was an assortment of impres-
sive mostly bronze sculptures.
They contributed more than
half of the sale’s total, thanks
in part to this standing Her-
cules Pomarius, which as top
lot sold in the middle of its
$1,500,000/2,500,000 estimate
range for $2,045,000. Just 15¼"
high, the figure by Willem Dan-
ielsz. van Tetrode was cast in
the third quarter of the 16th
century. This and several oth-
ers of the collectors’ bronzes
were featured in a 1988 exhibit
at the Fine Arts Museums of
San Francisco.
Harriet, Lady Fellows, an English
noblewoman who died in
1874, had owned this
Paul Marx German
circa 1700 table clock.
It was described in the
appendix of E. J. Wood’s
1866 book
Curiosities of
Clocks & Watches
, where it
deserved to be mentioned
because of the unusual
revolving top figures
of angel, dog, pilgrim,
and St. Christopher
indicating the time. Front-
mounted automaton angels
struck the hours and quarters.
It brought $40,000.